Abbott launches diagnostic industry's first all-in-one Customer Experience Center in Shanghai

Fast, accurate and reliable diagnostic testing is required for the right clinical care to be administered to everyone, from individuals waiting to get an annual health screening to patients wanting to get the right diagnosis and treatment.

Diagnostic test results influence 60 to70 percent of critical clinical decisions and the need for fast, accurate diagnostic tests has never been greater. Global testing volumes are rising due to an aging population, the growing management of chronic diseases and increased access to care. At the same time, health systems are facing pressure to perform testing as efficiently as possible with limited staff and space while also reducing costs. As institutions serve more patients and try to improve service levels with fewer qualified technicians, they are looking for new technologies and solutions that can help maximize testing efficiencies and help better manage resources.

To help laboratories and hospitals better address these challenges, Abbott, a global leader in vitro diagnostics, announced the launch of its first Customer Experience Center in Shanghai, China.

Situated next to Abbott's recently established China R&D Center, the 5,000 square-meter Customer Experience Center is the result of an over $70 million investment. The Center aims to promote quality and diagnostic standards in hospitals and laboratories across China and the rest of the Asia-Pacific region by offering comprehensive functions and services including training and education, customer support, and showcasing innovative diagnostic solutions and best practices.

"Better health care depends on better diagnostics. Abbott is working to deliver breakthrough technologies and solutions to help health care systems and labs improve their operations in ways that help patients live longer, healthier lives," said Brian J. Blaser, executive vice president, Diagnostics Products, Abbott.

Abbott has been pushing the boundaries of innovation to provide hospitals, laboratories and physician offices with a broad portfolio of breakthrough diagnostic tests, instruments and informatics solutions, spanning the areas of immunoassay, clinical chemistry, hematology, blood screening, molecular testing and point of care. For example, the company's Alinity? diagnostics systems, soon to be launched in China, offer hospitals and laboratories a harmonized experience across all critical diagnostic disciplines including clinical chemistry, immunoassay, hematology, transfusion, molecular testing, point of care and informatics, delivering better efficiency and the flexibility to help standardize processes, reduce costs and improve efficiency. Coupling with testing instruments, AlinIQ is the first of its kind in professional services and informatics solutions, enabling laboratories to better manage the flow of data for improved decision making. It is because of such a relentless pursue of innovation that Abbott has been selected as one of the 100 most innovative companies in the world by Clarivate Analytics for four consecutive years.

The new Customer Experience Center will help propel the innovation of China's diagnostics industry and enable hospitals and laboratories to achieve better health care performance. The four-story-high Center possesses interactive and state-of-the-art technology to immerse its audience into a personalized journey of best practice discovery:

? Interactive lab with innovative 3-D technology to allow hospitals and laboratories to be their own architects and design their own laboratory floor plan and layout. This provides laboratories the valuable opportunity to optimize space and build the most efficient workflow possible to provide better health care services.

? Virtual lab offering a virtual reality experience - a completely immersive and real-time experience to visualize how the Alinity? family of instruments would appear and perform in a real laboratory setting.

? Kinect monitors providing the audience with a self-directed and customized approach to gaining the latest information on Abbott's products and solutions

Having more than 25 scientific and technical experts, as well as a professional service team under one roof, the Center is designed to provide overall services for customers and partners. Its Customer Support Center offers laboratories in China with instant and real-time technical support through WeChat and a hotline. This not only makes it more convenient for laboratories to access technical support when needed, but also provides distant technical support to hospitals and laboratories located in second- and third-tier cities in China, significantly shortening the downtime for laboratory services to minimize the impact on patients. Going beyond instant support, the Smart Center monitors and processes data to predict potential issues and instrument downtime. It employs data science and analytics to forecast three days in advance any technical problems that could occur with the existing instruments and solutions, enabling Abbott to proactively help laboratories manage their operations and services.

In addition to helping laboratories solve their current problems, the Center also provides training to support pathologists and laboratory staff on their daily work. Close to 40 trainings will be conducted annually in the Center to enable hospitals, laboratories and other key stakeholders to provide high quality diagnostics for all. Partnering with academic institutions, the Center is committed to contributing to academic research, providing data and technology support to pathologists for their research and publication efforts. The first academic event will take place in the Center at the end of this year.

In order to accelerate innovation in China, the Center will consolidate firsthand feedback from hospitals and laboratories. Its strong data management capability will enable Abbott to obtain in-depth insight into China's health care challenges and provide health care providers with value-added solutions to build a healthy China. The establishment of the Customer Experience Center is a testament to Abbott's long-term commitment not only to its customers but to the general public.

"China's evolving health care landscape demands hospitals and labs to do more for less. As such, more innovative diagnostic solutions are needed. The launch of Abbott's Customer Experience Center not only helps laboratory physicians gain access to the most advanced testing instruments, but also improves skill sets through continuous training. So eventually patients can get better diagnostic services and treatment," said Pan Baishen, president of the Chinese Society of Laboratory Medicine.

Increased demand for testing – driven by improved access to health care, increased incidence of chronic diseases, and an aging population – coupled with a decline in hospital budgets and reimbursements are translating into critical hospital and laboratory needs that transcend both developed and emerging markets. According to the United Nations, China is aging more rapidly than almost any country in recent history. The country's dependency ratio for retirees could rise as high as 44 percent by 2050.

"What our customers need from us today and in the future is very different from what we have done in the past. With the establishment of the Customer Experience Center, we have created a new way to support our customers and their changing needs," said Jerry Tu, vice president of Abbott Diagnostics China. "By consistently bringing new and innovative products and technologies to the world, we help more people live life fuller at all stages of life. Through our actions, we are committed to supporting the government's healthy China vision."